Random musings on history, politics, and more

I just received word that a Twin Cities photographer and urban explorer named Ian Talty drowned this morning after rain swept him and a friend out of a storm drain they were taking pictures in on Saint Paul’s west side.

Urban exploration is, in large part, about breaking the rules and getting away with it. Alas, it’s very easy – and very dangerous – to get complacent from this, though. Some rules and guidelines are meant to be broken; others pretty emphatically are not. Among the latter is the trite-but-true “when it rains, no drains”.

Ian’s not the first urban explorer to be swept to his death in a drain by rainfall; here’s hoping he’ll be the last.